Veolia takes council to court over waste deal

Waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services is taking Thurrock Council to court over its award of a waste management contract.

Veolia was the incumbent supplier in a tender for waste and recycling contracts which was to be awarded to an in-house council bid, which had the highest score, in January.

Veolia has lodged proceedings over what it describes as “the council’s unlawful management of the procurement process” and is pursuing a claim for damages against the authority.

The council said it would refute the company’s claims. “Having fully reviewed the tender process, we remain sure that we can robustly defend our position if necessary. We regret that Veolia resorted to legal action, but we will not be deterred from achieving the cost savings and improvements in service upon which the restructuring of our waste services was predicated.”

The case is expected to be heard in the summer.

Veolia is not the only waste company pursuing action against a public authority. SITA UK is in dispute with Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority over what it perceives to be unfair treatment over the award of a PFI deal.